By Adam Myers
Thank you for your advice on how I can be a more moral
person. While I am looking into whether or not depriving gays and lesbians of
family rights is a spiritually healthy practice or whether or not a
constitutionally protected reproductive health procedure should be struck down
by activist Evangelical judges, may I offer you some ideas for your own
reflection as well?
War Is a Moral Issue
Many of us believe that a war based on lies is immoral. We also believe
that a president who allows over 1,100 American sons and daughters
to die because of lies is acting in an immoral manner. We were told
outright
that Saddam had weapons to use against us. We were told that he was
assisting
Al Qaeda in their attacks against our nation and others. Then we
watched as both
of these statements were exposed as lies and were endlessly edited on
an almost
weekly basis, from having weapons, to making weapons, to having the
capacity to
make weapons, to wanting to make weapons. We were not attacked by Iraq,
and we
did not exhaust every possible action before going to war. That is not
a “just
war.” It would be hard to argue that Jesus would even accept our own
criteria
for a “just war” in light of his admonitions to love our enemies and do
good to
those who hate us. War is a moral issue.
Economics is a Moral Issue
One of the greatest concerns Jesus had was to care for the
poor. Are we taking care of our poor when a tax cut gives the most money back
to those who already have the most money? How about when we engage in policies
that seek to reduce the incomes of millions of workers by taking away their
overtime pay? Or when we allow the medical coverage of millions of people to
lapse because it has become unaffordable? Or when we engage in practices that
reward large corporations seeking a higher bottom line at the expense of their
hard working employees? Economics is a moral issue.
Idolatry is a Moral Issue
In your widespread turn to our government to carry out the
will of the Christian Right, you have abandoned our God. We are told to trust
in God. The changes that we desire for the world cannot be brought about
through laws and policies but through grace and compassion. Bush and the
government cannot save us. Neither can Kerry, for that matter. The difference
is that members of the Christian Right have flocked to march under Bush's
banner with such an idolatrous fervor that Bush comes across as your new savior
from those who do not share your cultural views. You went so far as to paint
those who did not agree with you as being apostates and heretics. Even if you
do not believe this to be true, where is your public outcry while the media
portrays the issue this way? Your silence speaks volumes. Idolatry is a moral
issue.
It seems that we have much to think about. I hope that we can find common ground in our faith. I hope you can forgive any anger or frustration that comes out in this letter. I also hope that you can come to understand why there is anger and frustration, without attributing it to some un-Christian source. I do believe morals had much to do with this election, but the Christian Right does not own the moral discourse.
Sincerely,
The Christian Left
Adam Myers is a youth minister at Ponte Vedra Methodist Church in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, and he confesses to being angry when he wrote this letter.You can read more of his work here
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